Indianapolis, IN—-The stars and ‘Studz’ were out in Indianapolis for the WNBA All-Star weekend at the Hangar on Friday night as Hoop Vision hosted the second annual “Fan Linkup.” The women-owned, minority-led company teamed up with Fenty, Vagasil, Planned Parenthood, Culture Travels, and Visit Indy to blend music, food, and culture for the game’s biggest backers while vibing out with creators, players, and personalities on the eve of the weekend’s biggest attraction.
WNBA host Kayce Kirihara, WNBA legend Ty Young, five-time All-Star Kayla McBride and the Indiana Fever’s very own Natasha Howard, Makayla Timpson, and Sophie Cunningham were in attendance while pro-hooper/ rapper Crystal Bradford performed as the crowd and the viral sensation, StudBudz danced along.
Bradford’s electric performance was one of the many highlights of the night, as the crowd sashayed and danced along, mesmerized by her rhythm and tunes. The pro hooper, who has split time between the WNBA and overseas, can successfully add singer/ rapper/ songwriter to the long list describing her multi-faceted career.
The Detroit native had the StudBudz, the duo composed of the Lynx’s Natisha Hiedeman and Courtney Williams, bobbing their freshly dyed electric pink hair up, down and side-to-side as the crowd encircled the bar she mounted for the high-energy performance.
The popular pair took pictures and were highly engaged as they continued their 72-hour Twitch live stream that began Thursday night to capture their WNBA ASG weekend activities, activations and absolute chaos.
“In Phoenix last year, we reached out to a woman-owned brewery and asked them to believe in us. [We] asked them to take a shot on us and we had over 200 people come last year. One of the things we heard was, ‘Let’s get more athletes in here, let’s get more influencers in here.’ So I hope we delivered,” said one of Hoop Vision’s founders, Shawn Denny.
-And did, as the kids say.
Denny certainly answered the call when it came to building on last year’s event. She’s excited to keep fostering an environment for fans, by fans in support of the women’s basketball community, along with her business partner Mayokia Fowler.
The pair created the event in hopes of filling the void they saw and felt impacting women’s hoops fans.
“Yes, we love women’s basketball. We go to college games [and] WNBA games and we know that there are people here who travel just like us. How isn’t there a space for us to connect and really come together?”
Attendees were able to enter into a raffle for a chance to win prizes and gift bags from the night’s sponsors and were able to shop the latest collection of curated pieces from Femme Hoops, a brand that specializes in women’s basketball apparel.
The ticket also came with access to drinks and an assortment of fine food and appetizers freshly prepared in-house. The sounds of the night were courtesy of DJ Bae and DJ Yung Red and the host was Auboni Hart.
Additional partners that were not previously mentioned include Fitted WNBA, the Essix Experience, as well as an appearance from the creator Tha Bacon Man and many more.
“For me, it was just making sure that everybody came together and had a good time. So I appreciate everyone that came out, I’m just humbled. I’m honored. I’m blessed,” said Denny.
A time was had. Hoop Vision’s Fan Linkup was a success. To stay up-to-date with all things Hoop Vision, you can follow along here.
